SPRING 2015 || HEIFER.ORG

HEIFER UGANDA Saving Time and Trees with Biogas PLUS FLAMING OUT FOR THE RECORD Finding e cient cooking fuels 10 Too Sweet: how much sugar is too much? DIRT OF AGES Biologist Allan Savory shares 14 secrets to healthy herding

READ TO FEED FILLS THE NEED Students log 5,000 books 32 for Heifer SOMETIMES IT’S GOOD TO SEE DOUBLE Have you made a gift to Heifer in the past year? You could double it with the help of your employer! Thousands of companies will match their employees’ gifts to Heifer…even gifts given months ago. Many companies even match retirees’ gifts.

Go to WWW.HEIFER.ORG/MATCHING to find out if your employer has a matching gifts program. Just type the company’s name in the search field and follow the instructions from your employer.

If you don’t find your employer, please check with your human resources department. Together we can Pass on the Gift® and make a big difference in the lives of men, women and children all over the world.

2015 Spring WA-Matching Gift Ad.indd 1 1/22/15 12:50 PM horizons OPENING OPPORTUNITIES

Dear Fellow Activists,

SOMETIMES IT’S GOOD TO SEE PHOTO LACEY BY WEST s we settle into a new year with fresh President and CEO Pierre Ferrari visits a cardamom grove in opportunities ahead of us, I’d like to put Guatemala with Country Director Gustavo Hernandez. Aforward a new way of thinking about the work we do at Heifer International. I’ve stressed before the determine how to close the income gap between what our importance of the word “end” in our mission: We work to farmers earn without our intervention, and what they need end hunger, poverty and environmental degradation in the to earn for a dignifi ed quality of life. And we are tapping into communities we serve. the entrepreneurial spirit of these families so they can take it When Dan West started what would later become the extra mile. This entrepreneurial spirit is already at work Heifer International, giving poor farmers the means to feed in Uganda, where families are saving themselves time and their families was a noble, attainable goal. Globalization energy by adopting biogas technology. You can read in this has made us all neighbors, and now we are able to more issue about Edith Kalale, who uses her biogas stove to make fully understand the big-picture struggles of the world’s pancakes that she sells to children walking to school. We are DOUBLE small-scale farmers. Barriers to women’s rights, land grabs, learning from cutting-edge experts, like Allan Savory, how to Have you made a gift to Heifer in the past year? You could double it terrible roads and lack of electricity all contribute to growing bolster our efforts to improve the lands our farmers inhabit. with the help of your employer! Thousands of companies will match inequality worldwide. But we also see more clearly the And we are doing it with support from you, our donors, their employees’ gifts to Heifer…even gifts given months ago. Many opportunities available to them to move beyond subsistence local and corporate sponsors, and Read to Feed participants. companies even match retirees’ gifts. farming, as well as how we can help open up these We don’t just live in a global economy; we are a global opportunities. community. Giving millions of small-scale farmers the tools Go to WWW.HEIFER.ORG/MATCHING to find out if your employer has We all want positive change for ourselves, for our global and support they need to end their own hunger and poverty a matching gifts program. Just type the company’s name in the search neighbors and for the world in which we live. Heifer for good makes this world a better place. field and follow the instructions from your employer. International wants to ensure that small-scale farmers are not only able to feed their families and earn enough money Yours for a great 2015, If you don’t find your employer, please check with your human for their efforts, but that they are fully, and for good, out of resources department. Together we can Pass on the Gift® and make a the trenches of poverty. How do we do this? big difference in the lives of men, women and children all over the world. We are looking at what a livable income is in the countries where we work. We are examining our programs to

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2015 Spring WA-Matching Gift Ad.indd 1 1/22/15 12:50 PM Job: EDMKT-645 2015 Spring WA-Learning Centers Education Program Ad Date: 1/8/15 Final EXPERIENCE HEIFER: BOOK A FIELD TRIP TODAY! Heifer offers powerful global education programs that give students a firsthand look at hunger and poverty. Whether you want to stay for a few hours or for multiple nights, our three learning centers have programs to fit your needs. Discover all we have to offer. RESERVATIONS: 855.3HEIFER | 855.343.4337

Heifer Ranch Heifer Farm Heifer Village Perryville, Arkansas Rutland, Massachusetts Little Rock, Arkansas www.heifer.org/ranch www.heifer.org/farm www.heifer.org/village

EDMKT-645 2015 Spring WA-Learning Center Education Program Ad.indd 1 1/8/15 9:36 AM End world hunger one book at a time

Inspire kids to read and change the world with our Read to Feed® program. When you participate this Spring, you’ll be reading to help farming families in East Africa. The best part is that every dollar students raise will be matched up to $30,000 to feed these struggling families.

Learn more at www.heifer.org/readtofeed or by calling 877.275.READ (877.275.7323) table of contents | spring 2015

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Dirt of Ages 14 BY JUDITH SCHWARTZ Grasslands sage Allan Savory spent decades studying herding animals’ effects on soil health. What he learned is that the land needs animals as much as the animals need land. The secret, he says, is in the scheduling. Refuse, Reuse 22 BY FALGUNI VYAS Turning trash into treasure is the idea behind a biogas project in Uganda, where participants magically COVER transform manure into electricity, cooking fuel and fertilizer. Jamira Webisa Nalyaka, 62, cooks over a biogas burner at her Literacy and Livestock home in Bunambale, Uganda. 32 BY JENNIFER WHEARY Cover and top photo Students at a special school in New by Olivier Asselin. York brush up on reading and language skills while pulling together as a team to donate a boatload of animals to families in need.

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 3 letters READERS RESPOND

GETTING THE PICTURE ON AIDS Yes! The world needs unique things Thanks for the excellent visual and fashioned with the hands of a human stats on the AIDS epidemic, still killing being. And the people making them 1.7 million each year (“AIDS: The receive the satisfaction of being able to Modern Plague,” Holiday 2014). Anti- earn a living through their talents. retroviral therapy is working, but LAURIE WHITE JOHNSTON not everyone is receiving it, so the deaths continue. The Global Fund I’ve often wondered about this, “Does to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and it make a difference going forward?” Malaria is changing that. Thanks But I also think it’s worthwhile overall to an American pledge of $5 billion to be able to be self-reliant and that’s Volunteer Annette Sherden works with that must be matched 2-to-1 by other what I think “old” traditions teach us. fourth-graders at William R. Davie donors, the Global Fund is continuing I think it’s important, for example, Elementary. Students, from left to right, its work. This happened because that we know how to operate a car are Daisy Espinoza, Jayde Abshire, people asked their representatives to even when they’ll be able to drive Annalise Walterman and Keziah make this pledge. The power of our themselves. McCallum. voices cannot be underrated. When MICHELLE KELLER enough of us speak up, an AIDS-free STUDENTS SCHOOL generation will be possible. TEACHERS FOR HEIFER WILLIE DICKERSON As a school volunteer in a rural Snohomish, Wash. LIKE HEIFER county in North Carolina, I INTERNATIONAL offered enrichment to four bright ON FACEBOOK fourth-graders on my favorite We asked our Facebook friends AND ADD YOUR subjects—poetry, geography, if they thought Heifer’s efforts to FAVORITE STORIES. nutrition, astronomy and history— preserve knitting and weaving in six-week blocks, ending with a traditions in Peru were worthwhile. 30-question challenge. If all students Here’s what they had to say: outperformed a teacher of their choice on my quiz, I donated $20 to I particularly see value in marketing Heifer International. Motivated by assistance to help generate livelihood We want to the fun of selecting and giving an for these women. From what I hear from you! animal or share, the girls won every experienced in visiting knitting and challenge! When the students defeated weaving cooperatives there, they have Please send your comments to their principal, he too donated $20, so remarkable skills and quality supplies [email protected]. these girls raised $120 for animals for but greatly need help innovating Include your name, city, and other families. trend-current designs and finding ANNETTE SHERDEN distribution channels. a telephone number or email Mocksville, N.C. ANNIE MILROY PRICE address. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, and may be published online as well as Q&A SPRING in print. Because of the volume of mail we receive, we cannot Biogas is a great resource for small-scale farmers in developing countries. Do you have any ideas for other ways Heifer can help farmers make the respond to all letters. most of the materials they’ve already got on hand?

4 | SPRING 2015 table of contents | spring 2015

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04 LETTERS 40 MIXED MEDIA Readers respond The Way of Tea and Justice

06 FOR THE RECORD 42 HEIFER BULLETIN Too Sweet Deadly fl ooding in Nepal

08 THE GOOD LIFE 44 HEIFER SPIRIT Grow your own salad bar Down the Mississippi on a jet ski Spinach pie Coming full circle 10 ASKED & ANSWERED at Heifer Farm Guatam Yadama, author of Fires, Fuel & the Fate 52 FIRST PERSON of Three Billion Turning the page from poverty

JOIN THE CONVERSATION Follow World Ark blog on RSS and find Heifer on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube and Vimeo.

MANAGING EDITOR World Ark is the educational, informational and of Global Impact. Federal and state Austin Bailey and outreach publication of Heifer employees may designate gifts to Heifer International. Its purpose is to further through payroll deduction by entering SENIOR EDITOR Heifer’s goals to end poverty and hunger CFC #12079. Jason Woods while caring for the Earth and to raise awareness of the issues involved in © 2015, Heifer International. Passing on ® WRITER this work throughout the world. Heifer the Gift is a registered trademark of Molly Fincher International is qualifi ed as a charitable Heifer International. SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNERS organization under Section 501(c)(3) of Opinions expressed in World Ark are Pooi Yin Chong the Internal Revenue Code. Contribu- those of the authors and do not nec- PRESIDENT AND CEO tions to Heifer International are tax-de- Pierre Ferrari John Houser essarily reflect the views of either ductible to the extent permitted by law. the magazine or Heifer International. PUBLISHER CONTRIBUTORS Since 1944, Heifer has helped 22.6 million Cindy Jones-Nyland Elizabeth Joseph Alina Karki families, directly and indirectly, in more ® Irina Ellison Judith Schwartz The FSC Logo than 125 countries move toward greater identifi es products Erik Hoffner Falguni Vyas self-reliance through the gift of livestock which contain wood Janet Jones Jennifer Wheary and training in environmentally sound from well managed agriculture. forests certifi ed in 1 WORLD AVENUE Heifer International is a member of Inter- accordance with the rules of the Forest LITTLE ROCK, AR/USA 72202 To change or remove an address, Action, the largest alliance of U.S.-based ® EMAIL: WORLDARK@LIST. email [email protected] international development and humani- Stewardship Council . HEIFER.ORG or call toll-free 877-448-6437. tarian non-governmental organizations,

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 5 for the record FACTS & FIGURES

Unplugged

n Uganda, less than 5 percent of the rural population has access to electricity. Most households in the country—at least 80 percent— Iburn fi rewood for energy, leading to deforestation and health problems. Collecting fi rewood takes an enormous amount of time and energy. Learn how Heifer International is helping bring electricity to Ugandan homes in a healthier, more environmentally sustainable way on Page 22. You can support a Heifer family in this way yourself at

www.heifer.org/biogas. OLIVIER ASSELIN

Safe, clean water and access to toilets or latrines could save the lives of up to 1.5 million

children a year, according to BIGSTOCK.COM data from the United Nations. Munching the Numbers

Fresh fruit is the snack most of us would choose if given the option, followed by chocolate, according to a global survey by the Nielsen Company. But when asked what snack they actually ate in the last 30 days, people admitted to eating chocolate more than fruit. Snackers in Asia-Pacifi c countries ate chocolate most, while people in Europe, Africa and the Middle East snacked most commonly on fruit. Yogurt was the most popular snack in Latin America. Chips led the way in North America, followed by chocolate, cheese and cookies. Fresh fruit ranked fi fth. Nielsen’s fi rst-ever global snacking survey is based on answers from 30,000 online survey respondents in 60 countries. (Source: www.nielson.com)

BIOMASS: material from living or once-living JARGON things, such as wood and crop residue, that can be used for fuel RUSSELL POWELL RUSSELL

6 | SPRING 2015 FFUNCTION 1 TOOTOO 3

Sugars exist in most plants, Sugar contributes to but only sugarcane and sugar obesity and tooth decay, beets have enough of it that it and experts warn that can be extracted e ciently. SWEETSWEET it can be addictive.

4 2 Despite its drawbacks, the Corn can be processed to global demand for sugar extract high-fructose corn continues to rise. syrup, an inexpensive sweetener that’s popular with the food processing industry but the bane of many health advocates. 70% of the sugar we eat hides in processed foods like

25grams

8000 BC bread jam cake yogurt The amount of sugar the World Health Organization says 30% an average adult should Soda and sugary consume per day. drinks contribute - most of the rest. That’s just a smidge over 6 teaspoons, or the amount of sugar in one Hershey bar. SUGAR IS FIRST CRYSTALIZED IN INDIA AND USED MAINLY SUGAR IS DOMESTICATED FOR MEDICINAL

IN NEW GUINEA. OR 0 PURPOSES.

“Sip by sip and nibble by nibble, more of us gain weight because ho consumes IN we can’t control normal, deeply MADEAL Y the most sugar? IT rooted urges for a valuable, tasty W SUGAR IS PRODUCED IN ITALY and once limited resource.” grams eaten daily per person FOR EUROPEAN MARKETS, RETURNING WHERE HONEY HAD UNTIL Brazil CRUSADERS BRING THEN BEEN THE ONLY —Daniel E. Lieberman, 152 SUGAR TO EUROPE. SWEETENER. a professor of human evolutionary Russia biology at Harvard University 108 Mexico 104 E.U.  100 A BRITISH SEA CAPTAIN mount of sugar, 1200 DISCOVERS BARBADOS, THEN Egypt A DESERTED ISLAND, AND in pounds, COLUMBUS PLANTS THE A 100 94 FIRST SUGARCANE IN QUICKLY TURNS IT INTO U.S. THE NEW WORLD IN A HUB OF SUGAR that the average PRODUCTION. 90 HISPANIOLA. Englishman  Pakistan ate a year: 62  Indonesia 47 62  India HAVEN EMERSON OF COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY NOTES THAT THE 58  INCREASE IN DIABETES DEATHS 18 China THE SUGAR BEET IS BETWEEN 1900 AND 1920 IDENTIFIED AS A SOURCE CORRELATES TO RISING 4 33 FOR SWEETENER. SUGAR CONSUMPTION. 1900 Source: World Health Organization 1700 1800 1870 FFUNCTION good life TIPS FOR BETTER LIVING

Harvest: Spinach Cardamom’s Spinach is an early riser and a welcome sight after many cold months without fresh veggies. Try some of the first greens the Word of spring in this savory pie, which has nabbed a ribbon at Heifer Farm’s annual “Pie- Off” multiple times. The recipe has been polished and tweaked over the years. We’ll give credit to all the chefs at Heifer Farm, but with a special nod to Joan Richards,

the original baker. KILPATRICK DONNA

Joan’s Spinach Pie 3 teaspoons butter ¾ cup finely diced onion 1 pound fresh spinach, washed thoroughly 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature 1/2 cup milk, at room temperature 1 teaspoon lemon juice

LACEY WEST 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste n case you were wondering what gives your chai tea ¼ teaspoon garlic powder that je ne sais quoi you keep going back for, we may ½ teaspoon pepper have the culprit pegged. It’s cardamom. This spice ½ teaspoon thyme 1 Ifrom the ginger family gives that intense aroma and /8 teaspoon nutmeg taste to your chai. It’s not just for tea, though. Cardamom 4 farm-fresh eggs is used to flavor all kinds of dishes. Its combo of soothing 2 strips local bacon, cooked until crisp, then crumbled mint and clove hints and that ginger kick somehow 2 cups grated cheddar or Gruyere cheese enhances both an herbal tea and a strong gin. 1 unbaked, prepared 9-inch pie shell Hailing originally from India and surrounding regions, cardamom is quite common in Indian cooking (some Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sauté onions in the butter in even chew it like gum), but somewhere along the line it a large, deep skillet until translucent. Add spinach and stir snuck into Nordic sweets recipes, like the Scandinavian constantly until spinach has released most of its water. Christmas bread Julekake. Remove from heat. Line a colander with cheesecloth and Cardamom’s travels didn’t stop in Sweden, though. The pour in the spinach mixture. Pull up the corners of the largest exporter of the spice is not its native India, but cheesecloth, and twist to squeeze out all of the water. Let cool Guatemala. International demand for cardamom is on the to room temperature. (Note: If the spinach mixture is too wet, rise, and Guatemala has the tropical climate necessary the pie will not set properly.) for growing it. One might think that puts Guatemalan Beat cream cheese with milk, lemon juice, mustard, salt, cardamom farmers in a good place; however, many garlic powder, thyme, pepper and nutmeg. Add the eggs and farmers are not seeing profit from this trend at all and beat until combined. Stir in the drained spinach and onions, 1½ are in fact living in poverty. Heifer is actively working cups of the shredded cheese and the bacon bits. Bake for 35 to with cardamom farmers to improve conditions. If we can 40 minutes until center is set. Remove pie from oven. Sprinkle better the system in which cardamom finds its way from remaining cheese evenly over the top. Return to the oven and farmers to cups of chai worldwide, this one spice could be bake an additional 5 minutes, until cheese melts. Let cool for 15 the key to lifting thousands out of poverty. minutes before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature.

8 | SPRING 2015 Lettuce Eat Together: Planting a Spring Salad Bar By Elizabeth Joseph PHOTOS PROVIDED ELIZABETH BY JOSEPH

Elizabeth Joseph is desperate for sunshine and a crunchy green salad, and she suspects you might be, too. As the gardening and education coordinator at Heifer Farm in Rutland, Massachusetts, Joseph starts turning soil as soon as the ice lets up. Below, she offers tips for growing your own salads.

A salad bar garden is a low- are about ½ to 1 inch apart. salad. Get creative, and try different maintenance, easy and inexpensive Weed and water the greens until colors and varieties of vegetables like way to have delicious and nutritious they are 3 or 4 inches tall, and then purple carrots, speckled lettuce, Easter vegetables on hand to accompany any harvest them with a pair of scissors, egg radishes and rainbow chard. Forage meal. Plant right in your backyard, cutting about an inch from the ground for easily identifiable wild greens like in containers on a patio, at a school or so the new growth will regenerate and stinging nettles (wear gloves) and community garden, or wherever there you’ll have another crop on the way. dandelions to add an additional burst of is a little space to grow. With the rest of your salad bar space, nutrition and flavor to your meal. When planning your salad bar, plant vegetables that will add color, When it’s time to eat, mix a simple devote the majority of space to lettuce, texture and flavor to your plate such as homemade vinaigrette of olive oil since it will form the base of the salads. spring onions, radishes, baby carrots and balsamic vinegar, honey, salt and Choose seeds that say “lettuce mix,” and annual herbs such as dill, parsley pepper. Shake well before using, drizzle as you will be able to harvest the and cilantro. As the weather warms over your homegrown salad and enjoy individual leaves that sprout from these up, add cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, the first taste of spring! in about 3-6 weeks, which is faster than peppers, beans, zucchini, berries, edible waiting for a full head of lettuce. You flowers and whatever other veggies can also sow arugula, mustard mix, beet you like! To learn more about Heifer Farm and to greens, spinach, Swiss chard and kale. Involve the kids with planning, plan your visit, go to the Heifer website at Sprinkle the seeds over the soil so they planting, picking and preparing the www.heifer.org/farm

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 9 asked & answered HOT TOPIC The Burning Question Interview by Erik Hoffner, World Ark contributor

Millions of women and girls in developing countries spend part of every day foraging for fuel to cook their families’ meals. This effort to chop, collect and carry biomass for miles can take hours, cutting into the time they need for other chores like fetching water, caring for children, working the fields and herding animals. Cooking with open fires is also a huge Yadama travels in India to research health risk. Smoke inhalation contributes communities' reliance on natural resources. to millions of deaths every year.

Gautam Yadama is the author of Fires, Fuel & the Fate of 3 Billion: The State of the Energy Impoverished, a new book that takes a close look at this global problem. A professor and faculty scholar at Washington University’s Institute for Public Health in St. Louis, his research focuses on the livelihoods of communities that are dependent on natural resources. He travels often to India to document the challenges and explore alternatives.

WORLD ARK: How dangerous is air perinatal mortality, chronic bronchitis, chronic pollution from cooking fires? obstructive pulmonary disease, ischemic heart disease and acute respiratory infections are all GAUTAM YADAMA: The 3 billion people health threats from exposure to cooking fires. dependent on wood, crop waste and dung for fuel—160 million households in India alone— Are there other health-related issues? burn about 2 tons per family each year. That’s In these communities, people often don’t feel 730 million tons of biomass, which releases well due to chronic problems from household about a billion tons of carbon dioxide into the air pollution, which keeps them from plowing atmosphere. So you can see the effect on the the fields or otherwise making a living off the climate. But inside the house, recent estimates land. We have a metric for this, called disability are that 4.7 million people die each year from adjusted life years. DALYs give us an aggregate the smoke. That’s one person every 16 seconds. measure of years of loss of healthy life in a Exposure to particulate matter from cooking region, so we can picture the loss in people’s fires leads to pneumonia and, as a result, productivity and contribution to society and premature deaths in children under the age the economy. If you look at the DALYs from of 5. Low birth weight, increased infant and household air pollution, the numbers are

10 | SPRING 2015 PHOTOS BY MARK KATZMAN well, why don’t you do it?" No, go they just out and do can’t get and up say, the morning in "I’m not feeling And no one needs. cooking questions it. woman A the all for provide to woman’s responsibility it’s the norms dictate many in Social that of cultures these burden? the bearing girls and women are Why growth. economic long-termclimate on limits sustained and impose the of emissions black and affect carbon soot also impacts environmental the Collectively, region. the overall economyharms of that nation and the livemillions at low levels of productivity, and that resourcesnatural amply that the book illustrates, to of health, the harm to Because and ecosystems effect? economic an there’s So million DALYs. problemthis at about Africa, 26.2 is Sub-Saharan 31.4 DALYs million other The lost. major place for India alone, In Latin America. the latest estimate is life years, million compared in to million about 2.5 household pollution air like 41.7 are something andNepal the Bangladesh, DALYs attributable to devastating. Just for Asia, South including India, of household poverty, it are and multiple within is acomplexthat energy poverty story. It is astory to long-term realize development. argues book The we the if realities are are important of poor the very recognize that innovations social with combined innovation Technological problems. all addressing for solution the becomes technology where development of notions simplistic against cautions energy clean but access also by the poor. book The is the contextThis for stoves, cook understanding poverty. and energy of problem the of complexity Fires, Fate Fuel &The of portrays Billion 3 the Whatisthe project’s goal? stories. aphotographerwith who documents real peoples’ Your partnership isanunusual and book beautiful irreversible. become that norms and rhythms daily accumulate to outcomes the social in embedded acts and such. These wood while women go about work the fields, in collecting outside interactions market with systems on, and so responsibilities, and many of have these to do with that menstudies general in have fewer far daily from know we but responsibilities, other have that’sit, because their responsibility. Men, of course, traditional fashion. cooks amealinthe India's Massam state of Majuliisland in A familyontheriver WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 11 | asked & answered HOT TOPIC

A woman collects firewood in the Indian state of Orissa.

stories of women constrained by culture, of children— This changes the structure of the forest over time and especially girls—sacrificed to meet daily household affects the way soil nutrients run off. In some cases, energy needs. It is a story of unsustainable lives, an when grasses move in, there are more forest fires. unsustainable environment and negative ecosystem outcomes. Untangling this Gordian knot to understand Do cultural values affect the adoption, or not, how several billion remain energy impoverished of clean cooking technologies like biogas? is not an easy undertaking, but we stand to gain I’ve noticed that biogas is very popular among insight into possible energy interventions that women—they love it, and if they have enough cattle could prove effective and truly sustainable. These and water, there’s plenty of gas, and it burns cleanly. insights could be useful in designing technologies and interventions to tackle clean and efficient energy access for the many, providing sufficient quantity at a low cost. This is the energy challenge of our times.

Can you give an example of the ripple effect you talk about in the book? If agriculture takes a hit from some environmental factor, household income needs go up because farmers will have invested in something like seeds, and if they can’t recoup that, the issue of harvesting wood for income comes up. A few years ago, I was in Andhra Pradesh in India during a severe drought. Their crops weren’t growing, so what do you do then? You still have to make a living, to buy rice to eat. So women were collecting wood for up to five hours a day to sell in the local markets. And that affects forest biodiversity and structure, because when forests are Women and children in denuded often what happens is new invasive species Orissa haul their daily firewood back home. move in, taking over for more mature, original species.

12 | SPRING 2015 But maintaining such a biogas system still falls on systems in the community. The women have women, so let’s say that a valve breaks so methane been the champions of it and have advocated is not coming into the house. A woman may say to their husbands, but a tipping point has also to her husband, "Can I have 35 rupees to fix that?" been reached among the men, who want to and he may say, "I’ll give it to you in a day or so." look prosperous to their peers. Having a wife But she doesn’t control the purse strings, and a day out collecting wood starts to look bad. can become a week, and when they’re not used, Shifting out of wood collection makes biogas systems begin to dry out, and the problem is available more time to engage in other income- no longer the valve. The system has to be opened earning activities. For girls, better health and up and cleaned out so the anaerobic digestion can less time helping collect wood also increases be restarted. Which means more labor, possibly the probability of free time for education. involving the husband, who may instead ask her to just pick up some wood while out herding Are there other clean cooking techniques the goats, and so they go back to the traditional you’ve seen successfully adopted, like solar stove. That’s an example of a cultural aspect that stoves or clean-burning biomass stoves? can change something that was going well. A question that comes up a lot on the biomass stoves is, what’s the metric? It’s often unclear What about when women are more what emissions reductions they will produce. So empowered, as with Heifer’s programs? there’s a need for evidence. Calling a stove clean The upside is that when women are able to make doesn’t make it so. There are stoves in Africa that decisions, they can move things within their have been successful, but they also need to be cultural contexts that could make these new maintained. What works for two years develops systems work. Women are aspirational; they cracks and may be abandoned when it breaks. don’t want to be breathing smoke all the time. So we have to ask, what is the longevity of these When they have decision-making power, this stoves? When do you need to rebuild them? I have improves their lives and their households. seen biogas work and some individual biomass In one community in Rajasthan, India, there’s stoves that burn clean. But with the latter, you also been upwards of 90 percent adoption of biogas run into the problem of a household needing two or more burners because they’re cooking multiple things at the same time, while these cleaner units have just one. So there are limits, and people often can’t afford to buy two of them. As a single unit they work, but as a system they fail.

Why should the world keep working on this issue? The downward impacts on the health of 3 billion poor, the 4 million premature deaths from exposure to harmful household air pollution and the effects on the climate have proximate impacts on the well-being of 45 percent of humanity, as well as on natural resources and the environmental and climate health of our planet. That’s reason enough to care. n

Read more about the book at energyimpoverished.wustl.edu and learn about Heifer's work with biogas in Uganda on Page 22.

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 13 DIRT OF AGES

Let them come, biologist Allan Savory says of the herd animals long blamed for destroying natural grasslands. With proper management, he says, those animals can be the land’s salvation. He off ers proof at Zimbabwe’s Dimbangombe Ranch, where both fl ora and fauna thrive. BY JUDITH SCHWARTZ, WORLD ARK CONTRIBUTOR • PHOTOS BY TONY EPRILE DIRT OF AGES VICTORIA FALLS, Zimbabwe — Allan Savory tells a story nuzzle the guests.” about the time a bull rhino wandered into his camp while he Savory, now 79, is known throughout the world for (Allan, not the rhino) was taking a bath. So he did what any developing Holistic Management, a decision-making model reasonable person would do: he quickly dried his hands and, for managing livestock in which the animals’ actions and still stark naked, grabbed his camera. The rhino studied him, behavior promote ecological restoration. After spending a sniffed at him and softly snorted until, satisfied, he went on week with Savory in his wild but troubled home country, his way. In the last photo in the series, the rhino’s horn fills I find it ironic that in the public mind he’s associated with the frame. domestic animals, particularly cattle. For it’s clear that the It’s easy to get Savory to share stories of encounters with sounds, smells and history of this rugged place—the interplay wild animals. If it’s evening at his camp at the Africa Centre of nature, knowledge and memory—are integral to who for Holistic Management in Zimbabwe, he’ll be outside his Savory is and how his ideas evolved. And that for all the round, thatch-roofed hut near a low fire, smoking a corncob policy addresses and international renown of his current life, pipe—regularly cleaned with guinea fowl feathers—happy to his heart is in the bush. reminisce about chance meetings in the bush. There was the incident when he had a split second to determine, based on AN OUTDOOR CLASSROOM his instinct, whether he should shoot a charging Cape buffalo The Dimbangombe Ranch lies about a dozen miles—the or go on the assumption that it would veer away. Indeed, last six or so over rattling dirt roads—from Victoria Falls the buffalo did swerve to the side, but not before providing in western Zimbabwe. The 7,900-acre property, owned a lifelong thrill to Savory and the visitors walking behind by the Africa Centre for Holistic Management but under him. Then there was the baby porcupine he found along Lake the trusteeship of five local chiefs, is the world’s primary Tanganyika on the Republic of Congo border. “He was one of demonstration site for Holistic Management. Thanks to the best pets I ever had,” Savory recalls. “He used to sit in the restorative grazing practices implemented over the last 15 Land Rover with me. In the house, he would come over and years, the landscape has revived. Where the soil surface was dry and barren, there’s now lush, high grass, even on once-eroded slopes. “It’s become harder to train people here because there are so few bare patches,” says Savory. “There used to be much bare ground, especially along the railway line.” On one of our 4x4 bush outings, Savory points out where annual grasses are being replaced by perennial grasses. Annual grasses tend to be whitish in hue, he says, VICTORIA FALLS whereas perennials tend toward yellow. He kneels down, in his characteristic bare feet and khaki shorts, to show us the green flush at the bottom of the perennials. It’s late September, the depth of the dry season, and here’s new growth. Land is never static—“always shifting from bush to grass and grass to bush,” says Savory—and all plants have their place, but the distinctions are significant. Perennial grasses have deeper roots and, as they store both carbon and water, bring life to the soil. A bit later, by the Dimbangombe River, Savory invites us to examine more vegetation that

16 | SPRING 2015 “It’s the paradox of Holistic Management: that ruminants acting upon the land can have a regenerative e ect, when all logic suggests that cows grazing and trampling would cause it to deteriorate, as is often the case when animals graze at will. “

Clockwise from left: Wild animals like elephants and lions are coming back to Savory’s land as more food becomes available. Savory enjoys an evening rest. His home is made in the traditional style.

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 17 attests to the area’s restoration: sedges and reeds, both UNDERSTANDING THE DYNAMIC indicative of sustained moisture. It’s 6:30 a.m. and pleasantly cool, though the sun is already In the drylands, where life and livelihoods are dependent heavy on the horizon. I’ve come to watch the cattle move on seasonal rains, soil moisture is like currency, even money from their lion-proof kraal, a movable enclosure made of in the bank—saved, in this case, for the absence of rainy days. thick canvas, to where they’ll graze for the day. The animals At the end of winter, the Zimbabwe lowlands are dry: a hot look healthy but thin. This reflects the season, says herding dusty aridness that reddens the eyes. Now, after a decade- supervisor Dickson Ncube, noting that in September the plus of average or below average rainfall, the people of nutritional level of the grass is down to 30 to 40 percent. Matabeleland North province are waiting for summer rains Ranch manager Andy Walton says, “When the rains are that might or might not come. In this, the poorest province within 30 days, they will start to improve condition.” in a destitute country, a shift in grass type may seem a small Ncube, 52, who’s from one of the local villages, has been at matter. But of such small changes transformations are the ranch since 2002. He is immensely proud of this work, yet made—with tremendous implications for environmental more so now that his son Duncan, 20, has joined the herding health, wildlife preservation and human well-being. The staff. “I have seen the land change,” Ncube tells me. “There hopefulness inherent in the improvements he’s seen is what were gullies and sinkholes. Then we started bringing in the keeps Savory on the global keynote circuit when, given his cattle. The gully is still there, but now there is grass so there is druthers, he’d rather be at his modest pole-and-dagga (wood no erosion.” and clay) home, watching the bushbuck amble by. The gate now open, the herders are counting cattle as they leave the kraal. This unremarkable event, the slow, calm saunter of cattle, is the catalyst for the changes Ncube describes. It’s the paradox of Holistic Management: that ruminants acting upon the land can have a regenerative effect, when all logic suggests that cows grazing and trampling would cause it to deteriorate, as is often the case when animals graze at will. Savory’s understanding of land-animal dynamics evolved here in Southern Africa, over several decades of observation, questioning, and trial and error. The framework is based on two core insights: one, that grasslands and grazing animals are interdependent; and two, that while land can be overgrazed, it can also be undergrazed. As a game ranger in the 1950s and ’60s in Northern Rhodesia, now Zambia, Savory saw that when animals were removed or fenced away from land, conditions got worse. He recognized that ruminant behavior—nibbling, dunging, trampling, bunching up and moving to escape predators—stimulated biological processes that promoted soil fertility, plant growth and diversity. And that absent the vast, wild herds that had historically crisscrossed the world’s savannas, steppes and prairies, ordinary livestock properly managed could fill the New growth breaks through on grasslands at the Africa Centre for Holistic Management. niche. Holistic Management addresses a basic challenge in

18 | SPRING 2015 Land benefitting from Holistic Management is better able to absorb heavy rains and prevent flooding, Savory says. The dry season no longer leaves the Dimbangombe River completely parched. seasonably dry environments: how to keep moisture in the sighting of a nest allows us to orient ourselves, as certain soil from the end of one rainy season to the beginning of the weaverbirds always build on a tree’s western side. By next. Without animals eating grass and pressing dying plant scanning impressions in the soil, he determines that sable, matter into the ground, plant material accumulates without baboons and elephants have been to the area, as well as a breaking down. This blocks fresh growth and inhibits female giraffe, though that was a while back. “Most people biological decay. The result: the plant matter oxidizes and the would drive by and say, ‘Oh, nothing’s here,’” he says. Savory’s soil loses carbon and water and the capacity to sustain plant sensory acuity has been honed through the study and and animal life. This is a common story throughout the world, practice of tracking. This includes stalking wild animals— since regions facing desertification, including many areas notably man-eating lions—as a game ranger, as well as leading served by Heifer International, tend to have alternating rainy a military tracking unit during Zimbabwe’s long and brutal and dry seasons. war for independence. We drive up to where two rivers, the Dimbangombe and RIVERS TELL THE STORY the slightly larger Tsitsingombe, join up. This spot represents To tour the ranch with Allan Savory is to watch a landscape two catchments, water coming either from land managed spring to life. The tiniest detail takes on meaning. The by the national park service or land managed by the Africa

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 19 “With a shared interest in global poverty reduction and livestock, it would seem natural for the Africa Centre and Heifer International to fi nd points of collaboration. Indeed, a potential project in the Sahel presents such an opportunity.“

Centre. Savory uses his walking stick to indicate how high ways to restore desertifi ed land, I’d be happy to learn of the debris from fl ooding had reached in the respective it.” What frustrates him is when people confuse Holistic watersheds, which he can tell from where driftwood has Management with various prescriptive grazing regimens. caught on trees limbs. “The fl ood water coming off the He stresses that Holistic Management is a planning approach parkland reached three meters [nearly 10 feet] high,” he says. rather than a model that dictates specifi c grazing patterns. “This vehicle would have been under water.” By contrast, Those doubting restorative grazing’s validity might be water fl owing from the Centre’s land only rose three feet. interested to learn that as the land managed by the Africa On land where restorative grazing has been implemented, Centre has rebounded, so has the wildlife. The property perennial grass and fertile soil absorbed the rain—which, now has a higher density of lions than the nearby Hwange when it arrives, can descend in torrents. On parkland, the National Park. And the land supports healthy populations of water streamed off and eroded the soil. Once the rains stop, sables and wild dogs, species whose numbers are dwindling in that land is left parched. To Savory, “this junction of rivers tells many Southern African parks. the whole story.” They could also, as I did, visit Sianyanga, some 125 miles to A big part of the story is that the Dimbangombe River the south on the road to Bulawayo, a rural community of 150 now has perennial pools along its length, and extends more families that has been working with the Africa Centre for than half a mile farther up its catchment area than has been seven years. On a walk through the village land, a group of known in living memory. Savory takes us to where the sole project participants shows me how conditions have improved. year-round pool had been, where elephants would congregate We stop at a vlei, or meadow. “This was so bare, you could pick to bathe. The area looks desolate and the ground looks up a needle from the ground,” one man says. “When the Africa trampled. But it’s for a positive reason, Savory says: “They no Centre came, things started changing and grass and other longer depend on this place. Now elephants have lots of places plants started growing again.” to go for water.” At several spots, Balbina Nyoni, 47, a data collector and single mother who brings a personal passion to improving LIMITS AND POSSIBILITIES land through animal impact, juxtaposes a photo taken several Some in academia and range science consider Savory years back with how it looks today. Villagers used to walk controversial and are quick to dismiss his ideas. This vexes nearly 20 miles to buy thatch to repair their huts. Now they him no end. Not that others might challenge his work. To harvest thatching grass on their land. A woman named Busie the contrary, he invites criticism and says, “If someone has says that prior to 2007, many people traveled long distances suggestions to improve Holistic Management, or alternative to clear new crop fi elds and were away from the village

20 | SPRING 2015 The grass commonly used to thatch houses in the region is once again growing abundantly under Holistic Management, so people no longer have to travel far distances to harvest it. for several months. Now, she says, “we are able to feed our Come 6 o’clock, the air cools and the sun sets with families, and neighboring communities come to us for food. surprising rapidity. After a day’s work—which might include We’ve learned there is no crop field that is beyond repair.” meeting with a cabinet minister, arranging for a film shoot With a shared interest in global poverty reduction and and fine-tuning an essay or talk—it’s time for a “sundowner” livestock, it would seem natural for the Africa Centre and (Savory’s usual: a whiskey or can of Lion lager). He may laugh Heifer International to find points of collaboration. Indeed, a over how he had to thatch his roof three times due to the potential project in the Sahel presents such an opportunity. mischief of baboons. “There’s often no reason for what they do Savory welcomes the chance to work with Heifer. “In the Sahel other than that it’s fun,” he says of baboons; a fan of practical we’re dealing with extreme desertification,” he says. “Only 5 jokes himself, he regards this as admirable. Or that bushbabies, or even 2 percent of the land there is cropland, and the rest small big-eyed primates he’s often kept as pets, love alcohol: is degraded grassland. The key will be sharing knowledge “They’d lick around the top of the whisky bottle.” From across of how to manage livestock on the range. If people manage the ridge he may hear the whistled staccato of the pearl- holistically, I promise the land will improve. We haven’t had spotted owl, or the yip and cry of jackals. And there’s no place anyone manage holistically and not improve.” in the world he’d rather be. n

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 21 Michael, age 3, leans over his family’s biogas digester in Gombe in central Uganda.

22 | SPRING 2015 REFUSE, REUSE By FALGUNI VYAS, World Ark contributor A biogas project in Photos by OLIVIER ASSELIN Uganda leaves nothing to waste. Through the use of simple technology, animal manure is transformed into fuel, fertilizer and electricity.

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 23 OMBE, Uganda—The day starts early for Edith Kalale, 45. She wakes before the sun is up and has made her day’s wages by 6 a.m. Kalale is the proud owner of a biogas digester, which she uses to make pancakes to sell to children on their way to school. “I start making the pancakes at 4 a.m. By 6 a.m. I am done with everything.” The money she earns from the pancakes keeps her home running and her family fed. Kalale and her husband, Henry, the pastor at Glorious City Church in Gombe, had six children. Only their Gfour girls are still living. One son died of AIDS at the age of 23, and the other from suspected poisoning when he was 2 ½. Their daughters are grown and gone to work in Kampala, but the Kalales still care for their nephew, Peter Mulema, 19, and grandsons Michael, a curious 3-year-old, Cooking is clean and convenient thanks to biogas technology. and Smile, a cautious 1-year-old. Mulema’s parents died of AIDS nearly 11 years ago; he has lived with Edith and Henry ever since. ETHIOPIA To them he’s like a son. And Mulema treats the SUDAN Kalales like he would his own parents. Once Edith has finished her morning pancake duty, Peter takes over and finishes up the rest of the day’s chores. On 3 acres of land they grow all the beans, maize, cassava and bananas they need. They have DEM. REP. OF CONGO UGANDA four cows and are able to sell more than a gallon of milk a day through the local co-op, which gets them a little less than a dollar a day. KENYA With the milk and pancake sales, the family Gombe Kampala makes enough to sustain their daily needs. But Mulema has dreams of becoming a doctor, and at $9 a semester, medical school is an expense beyond his reach. “I pray to God to help me get enough money to pay my university course,” he said.

“GOD DOES MIRACLES” Simply stated, when organic waste, like cow Mulema is a man of faith and believes in miracles. dung, is trapped in an oxygen-free environment, He said his belief was confirmed two years ago bacteria breaks it down. The result is a biogas that when the Kalale family got a biogas digester. The is about 60 to 70 percent methane and 30 to 40 contraption allows the Kalale family to spend less percent carbon dioxide. Used for both cooking and time collecting firewood and more time making electricity, the gas saves trees from being used as money by selling pancakes. firewood and brings electricity to rural families Biogas is a renewable energy source. Technically who wouldn’t have it otherwise. speaking, it’s methane-rich gas, produced through Once you have a digester, the process of creating anaerobic (without air) digestion of organic waste. biogas is simple.

24 | SPRING 2015 Edith Kalale shares milk with her grandsons.

Bio-slurry, a rich fertilizer that is a byproduct of biogas production, can dramatically boost crop yields.

Peter Mulema, 19, spreads bio-slurry to fertilize crops.

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 25 BIOGAS CREATION

Gather cow dung and water. Mix in basin until the mixture 1 reaches a porridge-like consistency.

Pour mixture into unit, making sure that no stones 2 or debris get in.

Enjoy free gas. 3 Peter Mulema feeds cow manure into a digester while young Michael supervises.

There’s another benefi t, one that Mulema is counting on to bring him closer to his goal of earning enough money for school. Bio-slurry, a rich fertilizer that is a byproduct of biogas production, can dramatically boost crop yields. Mulema expects he will soon be able to sell bumper crops of maize, bananas, potatoes and beans.

EFFLUENCE=AFFLUENCE Leftover bio-slurry Effl uence, or bio-slurry, is the muck that’s left makes for a rich fertilizer. behind after the biogas digestion process. And it’s safe to say that this stuff is pretty much sludgy, black liquid gold. The undigested slurry, a mixture of dung and water that’s fed into the digester, undergoes a series of anaerobic digestion processes, or fermentation, to become combustible biogas. The residual bio-slurry retains all nutrients originally present in the undigested slurry, which in the case of many small-scale farmers in Uganda is cow dung. When applied correctly, bio-slurry is a potent organic fertilizer providing higher crop yields than just plain old manure. And, as a bonus to the environment, the slurry serves as a solution for Mulema tends the family cows, addressing nutrient depletion in agricultural soils in Ester (center) and Foster. developing countries.

26 | SPRING 2015 Hadija Nekesa, 80, has an easier time Namugosa Alisatu, 18, cooks on open cooking thanks to her biogas system. fl ames at her grandmother’s home.

Smoke from indoor cooking is a major cause of respiratory and eye diseases in the developing world and is responsible for an estimated 1.6 million deaths each year.

NOW WE’RE COOKING much exposure to smoke, and she has to take Like Edith Kalale, Hadija Neseka, 80, wakes up medication to reduce the watering. each day before daybreak. As the head of her Biogas stoves reduce indoor air pollution. The household, she is responsible for milking the gas fl ame is clear and does not emit any smoke. cows for the morning tea, cooking and collecting Women like Neseka no longer have to breathe in fi rewood. All this is done in the darkness and, dangerous wood smoke, which is a major cause with Neseka’s failing vision, is not an easy task. of respiratory and eye diseases in the developing As she gets older, Neseka is fi nding it more world and is responsible for an an untold number diffi cult to get around. “I cannot move as I want!” of deaths each year. she says with a hearty laugh as she sits on the For years Neseka saved money from milk front stoop of her home in Kinyole Village. “I sales and fi nally has the $52 she needs for a stove cannot get as much fi rewood as I need. I want a and lamp. In Kinyole, Heifer participants must stove and light in my house.” pay for some of the cost of labor and help with Years of cooking on a traditional wood-burning construction. stove has caused her vision to fail. Her eyes water Partners in the fi eld support the project by almost constantly from damage caused by so supplying the sand, bricks and cement needed

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 27 Mason Isaac Muckhwana lays bricks to build a biogas digester.

A well-maintained unit has a lifespan of up to 30 years and is relatively inexpensive to troubleshoot if something breaks. When something goes wrong, Heifer Uganda dispatches someone who is trained to make repairs, and that person also trains owners of the unit so they can handle future minor repairs and maintenance. Most often the trainers are called upon to help fi x broken light bulbs, clear out stove blockage due to oxidation and drain away condensation.

MORE TIME, MORE MONEY Liliane Nafuna, 16, studies Jamira Webisa Nalyaka makes mandaz to sell to with light from an oil lamp. children as a mid-afternoon snack. Mandaz is a sticky, sweet fried dough ball, Uganda’s answer for construction. Heifer International Uganda to the donut. provides training, maintenance help and quality Seated next to her biogas stove, Nalyaka control for one year. mixes one bag of fl our with sugar and baking Biogas digesters are installed underground, so soda. Quietly and with great effi ciency, she fries a hole has to be dug fi rst. Actual unit construction the dough. She averages one mandaz every 30 takes 6-10 days but once the digester is built, it seconds, making about 80 mandaz a day. Before needs to settle for three months before it’s used. she had a biogas stove, she would wake up at 6 a.m. Neseka’s digester is 6 cubic feet, and she’ll need to collect wood so she could cook, making sure the about 100 pounds of dung a day to feed it, which is donuts were ready by 10 a.m. Today, she wakes up perfect for her because her cows produce 100-130 at 7 a.m. and is done within the hour. pounds on average every day. The digester must Money made from the mandaz sales pays be fed daily to build up gas stores. for her children’s school uniforms. Her other

28 | SPRING 2015 Jamira Webisa Nalyaka, 62, cooks mandaz on a burner fueled with biogas.

Children buy mandaz on their way to school. source of income is banana sales, which doubled since she began using bio-slurry as fertilizer. Nalyaka credits her good friend and neighbor Zaina Muyobo, 49, for introducing her to biogas. Muyobo learned about biogas in 2010 through a commercial on the radio. Today, not only is she a proud owner of her own biogas digester, but she also works as a biogas promoter in her village in the Manafwa district. Muyobo earns $20 for every digester she sells. As a promoter, she invites local farmer families Neighbors Jamira Webisa to her home for biogas stove demonstrations. As Nalyaka (right) and Zaina one of ten promoters in her district, she does one Muyobo compare notes on their biogas digesters. presentation a day. “People are most interested

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 29 Zaina Muyobo tends her thriving coff ee seedling nursery.

Heifer Uganda and Kampala’s Makerere University are teaming up to see if bio-slurry is a commercially viable form of fertilizer.

in the bio-slurry and what it can do,” she said. Muyobo credits the slurry with her success as a coffee farmer. Not only does she sell enough coffee Bio-slurry from a biogas to afford a comfortable lifestyle for her and her digester is mixed with water family, but her coffee plants are of such high quality to make a rich fertilizer. that the Uganda Coffee Development Authority, a government agency created to regulate Uganda’s commercially viable form of fertilizer. If so, there coffee industry, buys her seeds and has made her is opportunity in creating a bio-slurry value chain, a nursery coordinator, allowing her to sell her allowing farmers to team up and form co-ops to seedlings to nurseries around the country. aggregate and sell their slurry to larger markets. Farmers who cannot afford a biogas digester In the meantime, plenty of farmers already can still reap the rewards of bio-slurry. Muyobo know the value of biogas and bio-slurry. When sells her slurry at $2.60 a bag. asked what her favorite thing about biogas is, Heifer Uganda and Kampala’s Makerere Muyobo, delighted and proud, shouted,” It’s University are teaming up to see if bio-slurry is a free gas! It’s free fertilizer! It’s free money!” I

30 | SPRING 2015 Biogas Basics By Jason Woods

Loose cover

Gas outlet pipe Removable Cooking manhole with stove clay seal

Gas storage

Displacement tank

Inlet Outlet pipe Slurry BRYAN ARENDT BRYAN

iogas digesters can be a key component Bio-slurry, a biogas production byproduct, of an integrated farm, turning organic is used to improve agricultural yields and waste into rich fertilizer and combustible restore soil fertility. Heifer Uganda is also B methane gas. The gas is used to generate testing the use of bio-slurry as a repellent to light for the house and heat for cooking. Children protect both livestock and dogs from pests. can study past sunset thanks to the lighting, and time once spent fetching fuel can go to other Although biogas digesters are expensive—fixed tasks. Heifer International Uganda initiated a dome digesters, like those primarily used in biogas program to address deforestation, which Uganda, cost $800-$1,000—families no longer is a serious problem in the country. have to buy or collect fuel. Time in the kitchen is often reduced as well (for example, the Additionally, biogas digesters: cooking time for beans is reduced from one • Reduce air pollution from smoke, and hour to 30 minutes after a switch to biogas). associated respiratory diseases and eye ailments Through the biogas initiative, Heifer Uganda • Create more free time for families, has supported the construction of digesters particularly female members of households, for more than 500 farmers. In addition to who no longer have to collect firewood Uganda, Heifer International supports the use • Generate opportunities for local employment of biogas digesters for farmers in Bangladesh, through construction of biogas digesters Cambodia, Cameroon, China, Honduras, • Control greenhouse gas emissions from India, Nepal, Nicaragua, the Philippines, livestock in a responsible way Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania and Vietnam.

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 31 Students Read to Feed for Literacy A legacy of giving thrives in a unique school in Rochester, N.Y. By Jennifer Wheary, World Ark contributor | Photos by Rimaz Kaleel and Livestock Even the principal dug in to help meet the Read to Feed challenge. From left, Xavier Melendez, Aden Osman and Tyrin Hill read with Principal Jay Piper.

Students Read to Feed for Literacy A legacy of giving thrives in a unique school in Rochester, N.Y. and Livestock ROCHESTER, N.Y. — It was mid-June 2014, and students All over the school, children read alone or to the adults were sweating it out at The Children’s School of Rochester, around them. Everyone focused on logging precious a public school for kindergarteners through sixth-graders reading hours as the deadline drew near. At home, they in Rochester, New York. The school’s kindergartners read to parents, siblings and friends. Posters around the and fi fth-graders were in the fi nal stretch of a year-long school offered encouragement and reminders of the commitment to Heifer’s Read to Feed® program. If reached, communities and families helped through past years’ their goal to read 5,000 hours would earn a $5,000 pledge animal donations. from a local philanthropist, enough to purchase an entire “I would say go for it,” advised Eniyah Peart, a third- gift ark of animals for people in need. With just one week grader and Read to Feed veteran. “Everyone just read an left in the school year, the hour every day. Think students were 415 hours about how much that is.” short of their goal. Phillip Urai, another third- Students at The grader, told the students Children’s School fi rst not to give up. “Read every enlisted in Read to Feed day for an hour. Read on more than a decade ago, the bus, read wherever you and since then, classes can.” earned enough money for Students at The gift arks every year except Children’s School came one. Pressure was high, and to understand that every 2014’s Read to Feed classes minute spent reading added had no desire to break the up. Eniyah explained, “For streak. me the most craziest thing The entire school tracked … was when I was like, progress all year long Students tracked progress all year long on a poster with a ‘Wow, how many hours on a large poster with a patchwork of repeating grids colored in by hand. Each large box have we read?’ As 44 kids represented 100 hours read by students. patchwork of repeating reading at least 20 minutes grids colored by hand. Each every day, we got a lot of large box represented 100 hours of reading by students. hours [last year], and I think we saved a lot of lives. We While most of the poster was fi lled in by June, everyone reached our goal early, even.” was nervous about the conspicuous blank spots. Eniyah spoke positively about her Read to Feed Fifth-grader Ruby Brown, age 11, appointed herself class experience. “My favorite part of [it] was just knowing that cheerleader as the deadline ticked closer, encouraging her I did something good, and I helped someone to be able to peers to push themselves to make the goal. “I ask everyone have as good an education as I did.” to look at the board and see that there are really not that many hours left. We’re so close. We all just need to read a A SPECIAL PLACE little more each day, and then we will be able to help the From the outside, The Children’s School looks like any people who need help,” she said. other school. But entering its doors, one quickly realizes it

34 | SPRING 2015 Eshetu Setegn, a volunteer at the school, helps kindergartener Thanh Le with his reading. Students (left to right) Thanh Le, Merveille Marango, Bisharo Abukar, Priyanka Mongar and Chifumnanya Okafor cram in some last-minute reading.

is a special place. Among the many unique characteristics war, famine, natural disaster and poverty in their home of the school is the fact that its nearly 300 students hail countries, and many spent time in refugee camps. More from 30 countries and speak more than 20 different than three out of four students come from low-income languages. families and qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. In Many of the walls between classrooms were removed, addition to students from places as far off as Bhutan, creating “grade-level families” and allowing teachers to Yemen, Thailand, Mexico, Sudan and China, the school also group students flexibly in ways that fit the day’s lessons— serves the children of local families who seek a culturally for example, integrating English language learners with diverse atmosphere. native speakers for some of the day, grouping by language The Children’s School has the distinction of being one of abilities at other points. It is an approach that the school’s the first modern U.S. public schools founded by teachers principal, Jay Piper, said benefits students and teachers and an administrator, as opposed to being mandated by a alike. central school district. Since its founding in 1991, the school Each year, the school’s music teacher composes an has dedicated itself to helping students who emigrated from original welcome song. Teachers sing it to students on the other countries and for whom English is a second language. first day of classes. Within a few weeks, all the students The passion that drove the school’s founding remains have learned the song by heart. They sing it to greet evident in its vibrant halls, its child-centered approach and visitors to the school. As with the open walls between its energetic, committed staff. classrooms, the welcome song creates an atmosphere of As a community focused on shared goals, The Children’s inclusion. School is a can-do sort of place. That is one of the main The Children’s School embodies diversity—racially, reasons the school has achieved remarkable results in ethnically and economically. Many of its students fled Heifer’s Read to Feed program.

36 | SPRING 2015 Since its founding in 1991, the school has dedicated itself to helping students who emigrated from other countries and for whom English is a second language.

happens, I know they are seeing reading as a tool, that CREATING COMMUNITY reading is becoming part of their life,” Sundberg observed. AND LOVE OF READING Many of the parents in the school are learning English Something clicked when teacher Nancy Sundberg first read themselves, so having their children read to them in about Heifer’s Read to Feed program in a magazine. The English aids the whole family. Aden Osman, a fifth-grader, program “looked like a really interesting way to tie a whole talked about what motivates his reading. “Giving animals to lot of threads together” for her students, she said. “So many people is my favorite part. We also help our own parents by of them are from other countries and come from families reading to them. It’s like they go to school, too.” who have been struggling.” Reading to family members helps students build long- Sundberg felt that participating in Read to Feed could lasting confidence and instills in them a responsibility to inspire her students with stories of families who had share the skills they’ve acquired. Fourth-grader Lashon survived adversity and moved on to better things. She Alexander, who participated in Read to Feed two years ago, also saw Read to Feed as an opportunity for her students takes his role very seriously. “My grandmother sometimes to examine the larger causes—global poverty, political forgets some words, and I just help her.“ upheaval and natural disasters—behind the hardships so His classmate Meh Ri Sha said she takes every many of the families at the school experienced. opportunity she can to share her reading skills. “On But what excited Sundberg most was her hunch that, by providing a way to make things better for others, participating in Read to Feed would motivate her students to read. Reading takes priority in any elementary school. But for the students of The Children’s School, roughly half of whom speak a language other than English at home, acquiring reading skills is especially important. “Time spent reading is one of the most important factors … needed to build language skills and move toward language proficiency,” Sundberg explained. When they find a book they love, they keep it, Sundberg said. “This is the start of their personal library. They finally have a book in their house.” Students also move beyond seeing reading as an obligatory homework assignment. “Students begin to see reading as a way to learn. They realize it’s a way to have fun, a door to all kinds of opportunity. And also a way to help others.” Students move from only wanting to get class credit for Meh Ri Sha said she takes every opportunity she can to share reading to looking for materials they can share with their her reading skills. “On Father’s Day, we had a card we gave to families. Often students pick out books they feel will help my dad, and he was having trouble reading it because he hasn’t learned [English] really, so I helped him read [the card]. I always with something the family is going through. “When that help when he has trouble reading.”

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 37 South. The children decided to ask Heifer to direct some donations to families affected by the storm. The class had just finished watching a news update that focused on a jazz musician who had lost everything. Sundberg remembered what happened next. “Kyondre jumped to his feet, pounding his fists on the table, and yelled out, and I’ll always remember these words, ‘Listen up, guys, we can do it, we have to do it, we will do it! We can’t let them down!’” Kyondre then marched to the front of the room and took charge. He counted the days of school left and the number of children sitting in class. He directed the “smart math kids” to figure out how much each student would have to read each day to make the goal. He insisted everyone take more books home and asked

Teacher Nancy Sundberg introduced the Read to Feed Sundberg to assign everyone double reading time. program at the school as a way to promote literacy, build Things came down to the wire. When the class tabulated community and foster generosity. reading hours on the last day of school, they had reached 5,087 hours. Kyondre assigned groups to figure out what the class could buy with the extra $87. The class had to wait Father’s Day, we had a card we gave to my dad, and he until the following school year to celebrate and formally was having trouble reading it because he hasn’t learned receive a plaque that would be hung in the library. When [English] really, so I helped him read [the card]. I always the plaque was presented, Kyondre was at Nancy’s side help when he has trouble reading.” to explain to the entire school how the class had pulled Over the years, Sundberg has seen many students together to hit their goal. transformed by their participation in Read to Feed. “Being part of Read to Feed gives students a sense of serving. They GOAL ACHIEVED become aware that there is something that they can do that On June 23, 2014, a steamy Monday two days before the will be of use to other people,” she said. end of the school year, students at The Children’s School earned their ark. Sundberg was ready, having pre-ordered RESULTS BEYOND IMAGINATION the plaque, just in case. As the children tabulated their Sundberg recalled the story of Kyondre Anderson, a former reading hours and realized they hit their goal, Principal student who participated in Read to Feed as a second- Piper entered the room with this year’s plaque in hand. The grader. “Kyondre was a tough kid … aggressive, hostile celebration started on the spot. at times, confrontational in class, but with a parent who After Piper presented the plaque, a group of fifth-graders worked hard to get him more tuned into school.” unveiled a nearly 4-foot-long toy ark they bought for Kyondre’s mother and Sundberg tried to motivate him to the kindergartners as a memento of their cooperation read, helping him locate books about sports, superheroes, and success. The fifth-graders said the ark, with its snakes and racecars. Still, it was difficult to get Kyondre to accompanying toy animals, was to help the younger put the time in. “That year was no walk in the park with children remember what they did for others. When the Kyondre,” Sundberg said. kindergartners entered first grade the next fall, they Two and a half weeks before school ended, Kyondre and proudly took the ark with them. his classmates were 280 hours short of their goal. This was the year Hurricane Katrina devastated large parts of the Writer Caitlin Johnson contributed to this article.

38 | SPRING 2015 WHY READ TO FEED? By Jen Girten, Heifer manager of education program development

eifer’s Read to Feed® program gives students a real and meanin gful way to make a Hdifference in the lives of families worldwide. Students experience what it means to be a part of the global community and to make a positive impact. Additionally, the Read to Feed program gives students a reason to practice their reading skills. Reading abundantly in early grade levels is a predictor of academic success. The Read to Feed program has plenty of bene ts for educators, too! Beyond fundraising tools, Heifer offers teachers a variety of educational resources: lesson plans, videos and children’s books. These teaching tools motivate student engagement and cooperation, while supporting academic skills with rich content that teachers and students can explore together. Heifer’s school resources are designed to be  exible, allowing teachers to choose the elements that best t their students’ needs. To help educators meet the goals of their schools’ curricula, the lesson plans are aligned to standards in language arts, math, science and social studies. The lesson plans are written, reviewed and tested by experienced teachers. Beautifully illustrated children’s books form the centerpiece of the teaching units, which vary by geographic focus and grade level. The recently released book Flora and the Runaway Rooster is set in Rwanda and features a feisty girl who navigates an adventure- lled afternoon and learns the importance of Passing on the Gift. The lessons bring a deeper understanding of the rich culture and resources in Rwanda. The previously released units feature stories from Heifer’s work in Asia, the Americas and Europe. Students are invited to Read to Feed at any time, but occasionally we plan some extra fun with promotions and incentives for teachers and students who support Heifer’s work. This spring, we have a special Read to Feed matching gift challenge! Educators are encouraged to visit www.readtofeed.org to get the latest Read to Feed news and resources.

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 39 mixed media FOOD FOR THOUGHT The Way of Tea and Justice: Rescuing the World’s Favorite Beverage from Its Violent History Review by Janet Jones, World Ark contributor

o, let’s say you are the director of a city regulations, creating menus or cooking on medium-sized, thriving nonprofit. a commercial scale. Oh, and lest we forget: no Let’s say that, in order to give your funding! But your vision—to build a place for Sclientele opportunities to learn new community, with food, coffee and especially tea work skills, you set up a manufacturing, to nourish body and spirit—is powerful enough distribution and retail sales enterprise. That, to overcome the obstacles. too, is thriving, thanks to lots of hard work. The Way of Tea and Justice: Rescuing the Then, let’s say you have a great idea to open World’s Favorite Beverage from Its Violent a café in a raw space adjacent to the workplace. History chronicles the successful opening of the You can see its benefits clearly: diversified jobs, Thistle Stop Café in Nashville, Tennessee. More filling a gap in the food service arena, a chance broadly, the book ties the café’s mission with to teach customers about your mission to help thousands of years of history to show how the women who survived prostitution, trafficking production, trade and consumption of tea over The Way of Tea and and addiction. Everyone is excited. Clients are the ages depended largely on the subservience Justice: Rescuing the already jockeying to join the wait staff, even of women. World’s Favorite Beverage brainstorming their uniforms. The author, the Rev. Becca Stevens, is an from Its Violent History By Becca Stevens Problem? Not unless you consider that you Episcopal priest and chaplain of St. Augustine’s FaithWords, 2014 have no experience in setting up a restaurant. at Vanderbilt University. She is also the founder Hardcover, 240 pages, $22 Nor in demolition or construction. Nor in of Magdalene, residential communities of flooring, lighting, buying fixtures, navigating women working to overcome pasts marred by prostitution, trafficking and addiction. Stevens founded the social enterprise Thistle Farms in “We read Flora and the Runaway Rooster, and I liked when the adventurous rooster ran away. 2001. It currently employs nearly 50 Magdalene Through Read to Feed I learned that the gift of residents and graduates and houses a natural an animal can change people’s lives. I’m glad body care line, a paper and sewing studio and that I was able to help change someone’s life.” the Thistle Stop Café. The most widely consumed beverage, after ISABELLA VILLAGOMEZ, 2ND GRADE water, in the world, tea is connected to justice, Atlanta International School revolution and religion like no other plant. Tea is tied to the work and mission of Thistle “What I liked about Flora and the Runaway Farms through the stories of sexual violence Rooster was when the rooster, Kubika, ran away. I like that part because it was very in the fields of India and the trading of opiates

READ TO FEED READ TO interesting. From Read to Feed I learned that in China. But tea has a noble story, too, as its people all over the world need help from us!” rituals and traditions are great companions for cultivating a contemplative heart. “Through our LAUREN FOGLESONG, 2ND GRADE attention to how it is grown and by whom, a tea Atlanta International School rooted in justice is a great companion for our LEARN MORE AT WWW.READTOFEED.ORG. spiritual journey,” Stevens reminds us. “I want

40 | SPRING 2015 THREE FAVORITES ON: The Way of Tea and Justice: MAPS

Rescuing the World’s Favorite Beverage from Its Violent History Relax—we’ll let you off the hook if you’re really interested in Heifer’s work with biogas in Uganda but can’t quite remember where the country is located. But if you’re to drink more [tea] and get to the root of where it comes from and see interested in polishing your world geography while learning how maps have where it leads. I want to find out how justice tastes on the backs of shaped human history, give the books the oldest leaves that have survived so much injustice,” she says. below a try. The story of Thistle Stop Café is laced with history and theology and steeped in Stevens’ determination to tell readers about the women who, for countless generations, suffered greatly because of the tea trade. “Tea provides a window through which we can view a On the Map: A Mind- global history, economics, exploration and oppression,” Stevens said. Expanding Exploration of Stevens and the Thistle Farms community focused on four the Way the World Works underlying principles for serving up “a revolutionary tea, while By Simon Garfield honoring the historical way of tea”: • Hospitality • Chado, which means “the way of tea” in Japanese, and is exemplified by harmony, cleanliness and tranquility • Story, or honoring the individual stories of courage that give hope to the world • Healing, by offering tea that is all natural and served with respect for the gifts of creation With these principles, Stevens makes the ubiquitous and age-old A History of the World tea leaf emblematic of a shift toward a more fair and hopeful world. in Twelve Maps “The way of tea is meant to lead us with intention toward peace,” she By Jerry Brotton wrote. “By drinking teas grown and picked with justice at its heart, we are sharing a cup with a world that still thirsts to reclaim our past for a more equitable future.” Thistle Farms Café is open for business, offering healthy meals and fairly traded teas served up by women who have achieved new lives. A huge chandelier gracing the space is made from donated-with-love, flower-patterned, sometimes chipped or broken, story-bearing china teacups, a fitting illumination for The Way of Tea and Justice. n

Maphead: Charting the NEW AND Wide, Weird World of Geography Wonks NOTEWORTHY By Ken Jennings Aid on the Edge of Chaos: Rethinking International Cooperation in a Complex World By Ben Ramalingam

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 41 heifer bulletin NEWS FROM THE FIELD

Nepal Tries to Recover After Horrific, Deadly Floods

Story and photos by Alina Karki, communication officer for Heifer Nepal

he flood that hit Nepal were damaged and more than 4,500 Collapsed bridges and landslides in August of 2014 was were destroyed. Heifer farmers in blocking major highways made travel among the strongest seen Nepal lost more than 5,000 animals impossible. Relief programs couldn’t Tin many years. Three days in the flood. Five Heifer Nepal staff reach survivors promptly, and with of incessant rain caused multiple members had their homes swept each passing day, the miseries of landslides and flooding in the away or damaged by water and mud. survivors worsened. Villages were southern part of the country, killing During the flood, basics such completely isolated from the rest at least 256 people and injuring 157. as food, safe drinking water, clean of the world for the first few days At least 254 people went missing, and clothes, warm blankets and sanitary after the flood, as the water levels 15,234 families lost their homes. products for women were unavailable. remained high and even more More than half of Nepal’s 75 In the village of Fattepur, Heifer flooding was still a possibility. districts were affected by the flooding, beneficiary Balkumari Chaudhary At a time when the communities with the greatest damage concentrated helplessly watched as the river could not be reached, people in the in 26 districts. Heifer International swept away her husband and two communities reached out to their Nepal works in five of the districts daughters. Since that moment, she has neighbors. Stories of tremendous that were hit the hardest. In those not spoken or responded to anyone. courage and solidarity were common areas, more than 50 Heifer project Post-traumatic stress is rampant across Heifer project areas. Heifer’s beneficiaries died, and many more among the survivors, and symptoms self-help groups collected grains and went missing. Nearly 10,000 homes include loss of appetite, insomnia and dry foods along with other essentials, belonging to Heifer project participants frequent flashbacks of the event. such as clothes, blankets and utensils,

42 | SPRING 2015 Nepal Tries to Recover After Horrific, Deadly Floods

Story and photos by Alina Karki, communication officer for Heifer Nepal

for the victims. In the village worked with local government of Tithireya, women showed units to bring in medical teams for exceptional courage by preparing health checkups after the flu and and feeding the victims, even other illnesses began to spread. though the flood also affected Heifer provided an initial them. In Mohamadpur, Heifer $50,000 to five districts affected beneficiaries volunteered with by the flood to mobilize immediate the Red Cross to distribute relief. relief supplies while beginning to At the same time, Heifer focus on rehabilitating livestock mobilized its staff and partner and agricultural systems for the organization staff members long term. Due to the Nepalese in affected areas to assess the government’s “one door” policy, damages. They visited Heifer the donation had to be made communities to survey the through the government’s District damages while counseling victims, Disaster Relief Committee. even though some of them were Heifer’s project management Flooding in Nepal killed victims themselves. Heifer’s committee, a network of more than 50 Heifer project partners started raising partners, cooperatives and self- farmers in August of 2014, and 4,500 funds and collecting food and help groups, helped channel project participants other relief supplies. They also relief to families in need. n lost their homes.

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 43 heifer spirit GIVING RESOURCES, GIVING SELF Mississippi Maverick By Molly Fincher, World Ark writer PHOTO COURTESY OF COMEDY CENTRAL

oing good by donating money or volunteering a few hours didn’t seem nearly extreme enough for comedian Kurt Braunohler. So he pitched a show to Comedy Central that would center on a burning question: “What’s the dumbest way to make the world a better place?” The network Dbit, and Braunohler set off down the Mississippi River on a jet ski to raise money for Heifer International. His seven-day, thousand-mile odyssey from Chicago to New Orleans raised $34,000.

WORLD ARK: So, jet skiing down the miles on the actual river, and the rest Mississippi River. How did this idea we had to drive. All told, it was a 7-day come about? trip, and I spent 29 hours on the jet ski.

KURT: I always thought it would That’s a lot of hours. How did you be cool to jet ski across the country, entertain yourself? but turns out that isn’t actually Sometimes after hours of riding, I physically possible. But I was told that would have this zen moment where it might be possible to jet ski down everything was perfect, and I was at the Mississippi. At the time, we were one with the river. Other times, when working on “Roustabout,” and the it was choppy and windy, it really was whole idea of the [TV] show is, “What’s work. It was really hard. the dumbest way to make the world a better place?” So it all came together. I had a mic and a camera on me the whole time, so I did a lot of improvising How long was the trip? for the show. Making things up for It was a 1,000-mile trip. We did 600 hours on end.

44 | SPRING 2015 Braunohler (pictured top left) is no stranger to zany stunts–you may already know his work from his infamous “How Do I Land?” skywriting joke. He let fans know about his jet ski journey by posting photos and video to YouTube and Instagram.

What was it like? Can you describe Were there moments that made you your experience? glad you did this crazy thing? It was insane. But it was really cool, Getting out on the river that fi rst time too. The Mississippi is such a symbol was a great moment. It’s beautiful. of America, in a way. It was cool to experience what it’s really like to go Why did you choose to support Heifer? down the Mississippi. No one rides down We needed someone that people could the river for pleasure; it’s very, very trust, because you can’t trust me [laughs]. dangerous. It’s only used by commercial We were looking at several nonprofi ts, and barges. But because of that and the fact Heifer’s just been doing it for so long. It that you can’t build too close to the river also has the recognition; people know and because of fl ooding, there are these long understand it. We needed an organization stretches that have remained in their that was well respected and trusted, so we natural state. It’s so beautiful. It was like went with Heifer. going back and experiencing the river as Huck Finn might have experienced it. Would you recommend jet skiing down the Mississippi or something like it to Did you ever regret this method of others? fundraising? You should totally do it. I encourage any Yeah, when we ran out of gas the fi rst day type of absurd ridiculousness that can Watch all nine episodes and had to crash land at an abandoned exist in the world. I thought it was great. It of Braunohler’s antics grain silo. It was essentially a nightmare was really nice to wake up in the morning online at www.cc.com/ factory. At that point I thought we may and know what we were doing was shows/roustabout have made a horrible mistake. making the world a better place.

WWW.HEIFER.ORG | 45 heifer spirit GIVING RESOURCES, GIVING SELF Coming Full Circle By Irina V. Ellison, Women’s Lambing participant

Ellison, then 7, poses beside a peace pole with her siblings and Nepali children.

rowing up, I learned that there children playing around a peace pole near a are two forms of travel: vacation, mountainside lookout. My parents quickly a decadence during which people ushered us out of the car to greet the girls, seizing Gspend their days sipping fruity the opportunity to unite two groups of children drinks and lounging poolside; and trips, an in a shared message of building peace and opportunity to challenge oneself, to explore and community. experience an exotic land. In 1987, my parents, For more than 10 years, I have worked who have a lifelong passion for travel and always as an educator in the biological sciences, wanted to see Mt. Everest, took me and my two emphasizing the importance of finding older siblings on a trip to Nepal. This wouldn’t be meaningful connections in order to gain a a vacation to Disney World or the Jersey Shore, greater understanding of basic science. To say they told us. This trip would be an adventure! I that I value education is an understatement; was sold. I have built my entire life around it. I came to Although I was just 7-years-old at the time, the Heifer Farm with the idea of developing an the warmth, generosity and compassion of the interdisciplinary course on hunger and biology people of Nepal, as well as the extreme poverty, for my college students. were indefinitely imprinted on me. As we drove You can imagine my feeling of destiny when, along the rural mountain roads, leaving the 27 years after my trip to Nepal, I came across temples and villages in the dust behind our old the same peace pole on the Heifer Farm, a taxi, we came across a small group of Nepalese world away in Rutland, Massachusetts! When I

46 | SPRING 2015 A peace pole Ellison spotted found the peace pole again after so many years, underscored the interdisciplinary nature of during the I felt the serenity of confirmation. I knew I was complex global problems and the importance of Women’s Lambing supposed to be at the farm, and that my ongoing understanding the shared human experience. program at work on interdisciplinary education and public I am so grateful to have shared this experience Heifer Farm health is a meaningful and valuable part of my with an amazing group of caring, strong women, brought back fond memories personal journey, my lifelong trip. and I appreciate how the program modeled of a childhood To take part in the Women’s Lambing Heifer’s mission of empowering women around trip to Nepal. program at Heifer Farm was more than an the world and building a healthy connection enriching experience. Just like my travels with sustainable food. to Nepal, my visit to the Heifer Farm was It is so vital to take the time to see the miracle transformative. Although I fully anticipated a in the every day. Thank you, Heifer International, wonderful experience, my time on the farm far for granting me this miracle and for reminding surpassed my expectations. From the moment I me that whether you live in Nepal or the U.S., arrived, I felt the passion with which the whole building a culture of peace is a key element in team not only embraced but also lived the realizing our shared trip in finding a sustainable mission of Heifer International every day. I left end to hunger. the farm restored and inspired, seeing clearly the connections between hunger, sustainability, education and gender equity. To learn more about Women’s Lambing, visit The lessons I learned on the farm www.heifer.org/farm

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CALL: 877.448.6437 ê ONLINE: SHOP.HEIFER.ORG ê MAIL: P.O. BOX 8058, LITTLE ROCK, AR 72203-8058 Tools for an Alternative Giving LIVE OUT Event YOUR Rotational FAITH Curriculum

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“We all just need to read a little more each day, and then we will be able to help the people who need help.”

Fifth-grader Ruby Brown

very year, kindergarteners and fifth-graders at The Children’s School in Rochester, New York, devour stacks of books for Heifer’s Read to Feed® program. Reading is especially important Eat the school, which caters largely to students for whom English is a second language. Last year, the students logged 5,000 reading hours to donate $5,000 to Heifer.

52 | SPRING 2015 A N ENDOWMENT GIFT NOW CAN SUPPLY ENOUGH TO FEED AN ENTIRE CONTINENT FOREVER

World hunger and poverty can’t be eliminated overnight, but you can leave a legacy that provides resources for Heifer’s work for years to come. Gifts to our general endowment allow Heifer to be fl exible in responding to changing needs throughout the world and provide long-term support for our proven approach to ending hunger and poverty. Endowment gifts grow over time, becoming the gift that keeps on giving. To fi nd out how your gift can have a longer-lasting impact, visit www.HeiferFoundation.org.

HIF-151 2015 Spring WA-Foundation Ad.indd 1 12/3/14 2:51 PM Nonprofit Organization 1 World Avenue U.S. Postage Little Rock, AR 72202/USA PAID Heifer International

PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER 69.RPWASFY15

THEY SUCCEED BECAUSE YOU GIVE Heifer International needs caring supporters to join a critically important group we call Friends of Heifer®. Friends of Heifer send a regular contribution each month to help provide a steady, reliable stream of support so we can continue sending animals, training and hope to hungry families around the world.

For just a few dollars a month, you can provide these families with heifers, goats, sheep and other livestock that produce nutritious milk and cheese, wool, meat, eggs and draft power. This increases income for medicine and school fees and allows families to add GIVE MONTHLY. GIVE HOPE. more diverse foods to their diets. All you have to do is sign up, and we’ll take care of the rest. Call us at 888.5HUNGER or visit www.heifer.org/monthly

To join Friends of Heifer, use the envelope between pages 26 and 27.

MKTRES-181 2014 WA-FOH Ad.indd 1 1/27/15 1:20 PM